Information & Ethics committee  I would correct the record, though.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not here representing Mr. Soudas.

Information & Ethics committee  Well, now that there's a pause, I'll answer. I'm here representing the Prime Minister. I've said that four times now, and you continue to suggest that I'm here representing Mr. Soudas. That is not the fact. Our government accepts ministerial responsibility. We accept ministerial accountability.

Information & Ethics committee  I understand you're making a mockery of Parliament.

Information & Ethics committee  Apparently Mr. Easter wasn't invited to that agreement.

Information & Ethics committee  I completely agree, Mr. Chair. This government strongly supports ministerial responsibility. As Mr. Easter has said, Mr. Soudas is responsible to the Prime Minister and not to Parliament. The Prime Minister has asked me to come here and represent him in his capacity as Prime Minister, and I'm prepared to entertain your questions.

Information & Ethics committee  I have a one-page statement, which I will preface by saying that your description of our conversation was accurate. As Mr. Easter said, Mr. Soudas is responsible to the Prime Minister, and under parliamentary convention it's very rare for the Prime Minster to appear before a parliamentary committee.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm only on the fifth sentence of my one-page--

Victoria Harbour  Mr. Speaker, if the member from Vancouver Island had talked to her colleague, the New Democratic member for Victoria, she would know that I have worked with her very closely on this issue. In fact, it is not the Government of Canada that makes this determination. It is both the city and the province.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, like the member for Wetaskiwin, I was shocked to hear the Liberals bragging about their sorry record. Let us look at their record with raising taxes. Between 1993 and 2000, Liberal governments increased taxes 63 times. Personal income taxes were increased 27 times. Business taxes were increased 23 times.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, our friend from Winnipeg Centre has certainly demonstrated why this week in Parliament in The Hill Times newspaper he was named the most quotable member of Parliament. I am very pleased on behalf of all members of the government caucus to congratulate the member opposite.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, it is funny. The Liberal Party had a conference in Montreal, a policy conference, a thinkers' conference, but it did not allow Liberal MPs to speak. The Liberal leader would not allow his Liberal MPs to speak. Had he done that, he would have heard some great quotes from the Liberal critic for finance, the member for Markham—Unionville, who has said in the past that corporate tax cuts create jobs, that cutting taxes on new investment is the best way to get the economy going.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, let me inform the member opposite of a great quote from a great thinker on tax cuts. He said: Our leader has stressed...the importance of deeper corporate tax cuts as a primary means of achieving the investment, the rising living standards and the jobs, jobs, jobs that we all want for ourselves and our children.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, the real priority is to create jobs so that families can provide for themselves and increase their standard of living. Liberals know this only too well. Let me read another quote, “Corporate tax cuts are one of the best strategies to attract investment and help manufacturers battered by the high Canadian dollar”.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, our number one goal, our number one objective as a government here in Canada is to create jobs, to create more hope, to create more opportunity. Just 15 months ago we came forward with Canada's economic action plan. One of the centrepieces of that is tax reductions, to make Canada a magnet for jobs, investment and opportunity.